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I think we will be loaded at QB and RB next year. Now if we can get an OL that can work together and a develop a little more out of the WR's, replace some experience on D, combined with an 'easy' SEC-W schedule, next year can be very, very special.

IMHO, based on who we have returning and who we have committed, we easily have a top 10 or 15 running back field in the nation, and that's good enough to compete and win with anybody.

We've got to remember two things....

#1 - With all the plays we run with Shaw or Thompson running in the zone read, and by using TE's a good bit, and then those WR's in Ace, Bruce, Demere, Shaq and Nick Jones. We don't need to be a 80%+ run team anymore. We saw this thoughout the whole year.

#2 - If the OL improves it can make average running backs look like world beaters. Personally, I think the OL will improve. The only person we're losing is TJ. and Coach Elliott knows how to get those guys motivated and get the most of them. I look for them to be even better next season.

.....With all that said, we could be looking at the most experienced, complete and talented offenses Spurrier has ever had here at Carolina for 2013.

....And we know the D will still be soild again. We have great depth there and many key guys are back. (Clowney, Quarles, Hampton, B. Williams, Legree and Sutton) We'll have plenty of new comers who are talented enough and chomping at the bit to step in. Our defense is to the point, we don't rebuild anymore, we re-load.

Can't wait for 2013, it gonna be a good one.

__________________
What's that you say? Clemson is in a BCS bowl game?......I'm sure Dabo will be wearing the finest sweatshirt money can buy.

I really have a hard time saying we are stacked at RB by just looking at the bowl game. Other than Shaw's long run, we really had nothing and barely even tried to run it seemed like. Getting Wilds back will be huge I think and he should be the starter. Hopefully Davis can improve along with our OL and provide some push/holes for those 2. No idea if Carson will be back and have yet to see Salley so those are questions.

As always the question is the Oline. If they learn to PASS BLOCK, I think you will see mor downfeild passing. If this is the case, no one will be able to stack the box tho stop our running game. Think of what Marcus would have accomplished, if our passing game would have been anything close to what SOS ran at Fl

The line did a good job at giving the QBs time to get the ball off this season. It wasn't perfect but our guys had time to let it fly and they did. I don't put much stock into the run game performance against Michigan because Greg Madison's plan was to sell out on the run and make our skill guys on the perimeter and QBs beat them, which we did.

Yes, we are going to need our run game to give us the 50/50, 60/40 balance that Coach Spurrier desires but we are going to be a passing team in 2013 and if we can continue to hit big plays and be efficient in the passing game it should help us get leads that we can salt away late in the game with the run.

I really have a hard time saying we are stacked at RB by just looking at the bowl game. Other than Shaw's long run, we really had nothing and barely even tried to run it seemed like. Getting Wilds back will be huge I think and he should be the starter. Hopefully Davis can improve along with our OL and provide some push/holes for those 2. No idea if Carson will be back and have yet to see Salley so those are questions.

Basically, we really don't know what we have.

JD

how can you base what we have at rb, off of what we did in the bowl game? davis didn't touch the ball, and carson only got two extremely short balls thrown to him, as was a hairline away from taking them to the house. miles got very few attempts as well, because mich was forcing us to throw the ball. so we did. so using that game as a reason to question our rb talent is ridiculous.
we have a ton of talent at rb, more than 95% of the other 119 d1 teams. but our ol was extremely young, and dealing with some very complex schemes. with another year in the system, tons of experience from this past season, an infusion of both redshirt and true freshmen talent and elliot up their asses for another off-season and preseason camp, they will be much stronger next season, and thus so will our running game.

__________________Tact is for those who are not witty enough for Sarcasm...

I think the biggest problem is that we don't have a proven commodity coming back.

Wilds has experience, and has shown ability, but lost his starting job due to Kenny being able to handle blocking better. Plus, he's coming back from injury. Davis has shown flashes of being great, but he needs more experience and needs to become a more rounded player.

All of the backs other than those two have no experience at all, and while they have tons of promise, haven't produced on the field yet.

For that alone I'd say that next year at RB is a bit of a question mark. Tons of talent but no proven production.

Look at the strengths of the running backs - and the diversity we can probably use to give defenses a lot to prepare for.
Wilds is a powerful straight-ahead runner with good straightline speed. He has a good lean, and will likely improve on the finishing angles and blocking. He can scoot if he breaks the line. Probably a good pass option, also.
Carson is a smaller, unknown, but stong rummer who has shown good promise in practice. He is known for his speed - pre-injury. Can catch and run.
Davis is a talented all-purpose back with good size, speed, and some moves. Again, blocking.
Salley is the unknown among the current group, but appears to be a compact, head-on load.
Williams has speed, and from his film, very good vision. He seems to set up runs and see developing openings well.
Smith has been a very productive and versitile player who can likely contribute in a number of roles.
The whole group looks good.

no questions at all about wilds, he was a true freshman, not all true freshmen are the best blockers. his injury wasnt so severe that we need to question if he'll be the same. the only thing that is unproven is can he handle the load for a whole season and/or stay healthy. 87 carries over 4 straight weeks including 28 and 29 carry games in sec play along with three 100 yard games over that stretch proves something.

no questions at all about wilds, he was a true freshman, not all true freshmen are the best blockers. his injury wasnt so severe that we need to question if he'll be the same. the only thing that is unproven is can he handle the load for a whole season and/or stay healthy. 87 carries over 4 straight weeks including 28 and 29 carry games in sec play along with three 100 yard games over that stretch proves something.

Agreed, I don't know what more people could expect from a RB standpoint. We have a fully healthy, more mature Brandon Wilds, and his biggest problem his freshman season was maturity. That is one of the reasons he sat after those huge breakout games. By all accounts, that is no longer an issue. Mike Davis got some good experience and should improve, and Carson may be the best Running Back we've ever had to take so few snaps. Not sure if he'll be back but so far it looks like he will. We then have Salley who will excel in short yardage situations and blocking, by all the reports. That's four quality guys that can carry the ball in different situations with differing strengths. That's almost ideal.

SC fans shouldn't count on Freshmen to contribute. Freshmen like Lattimore are once in a lifetime. You should expect what you got from Davis and less: alot of costly fumbles, great yards against bad teams, not many yards against good teams (3.7 ypc vs SEC, 3.2 ypc against ranked teams).

It is not a position of concern, but we aren't returning walter payton (or even Todd Gurley) either. I like Wilds alot. He was bigger, faster, stronger than lattimore, but without quite the same balance and shiftiness as a true freshman (few backs can match lattimore on these attributes). He would drive the pile forward for three yards rather than submarining under it for 5 as marcus might do on a given play. Hope he comes back stronger than ever.